detailman

noun

1. A sales representative for a pharmaceutical company.

   “Nearly every pharmaceutical house has its own brands, sold in tablets, solutions or brightly-colored capsules, on which its “detail men” keep doctors informed. Probably the most popular successors to Veronal are Seconal (“red birds” to the bootleg trade) and Nembutal (“yellow jackets”).”

   “It is remarkable that any physician has time to see detailmen (pharmaceutical company sales representatives).”

   “About one hundred thousand of them in the United States visit doctors' offices with drug samples, dinner invitations, tickets to ball games, and various other gifts. Drug companies spend about $5 billion annually on detailmen and their gifts.”